This week, I will be speaking at the SCTE UK Autumn Lecture Meeting – “The Nuts and Bolts of Broadband” - covering evolution in access architectures.

Many operators plan to attend the event and will be asking the same question: How can we evolve our network to support growing bandwidth demands, driven by the crazy number of new applications and increases in consumption of services like UHD and virtual reality?

During my presentation I will provide guidance, based on the studies and investigations the ARRIS team has undertaken, to assess the different evolution paths available for operators.

It is a common assumption that PON will be the chosen path for greenfield deployments. However, with the up-and-coming innovations in the DOCSIS domain, operators can achieve competitive service tiers, possibly at lower cost. New innovative technologies, such as DOCSIS 3.1 and Full Duplex DOCSIS will also enable high speeds to existing subscribers, who represent the vast majority of cable operators’ subscribers. For existing subscribers using the HFC network today, operators are looking for cost effective solutions to provide high-speed tiers, with minimal change to their plant, and therefore lower capex investment.

ARRIS is geared up to help cable operators find their optimal solution, which is also dependent on geographical dispersion, financial capabilities, and the traffic engineering requirements unique to their subscribers. I will outline the various solutions and architectures during my presentation "Delivering Gigabit Speed and beyond to the Home - Next Evolution in Access Architecture" on Wednesday, October 19th, at 10:30am.